In 1630, when the Shogunat forbade women to play Kabuki, ephebs took their places and played the Wakashu Kabuki under the name of Onnagata. These actors, transvestites both in their private lives and on stage were firing passions. Their shocking appearances - that came with fights and scandals- provoked a new ban of the state in 1652. "Agnès Giard, The Erotic Imagination in Japan".